Should I get a 24 port switch or router for this network?
May 3rd, 2009
Posted by: admin
My existing equipment is:
Linksys Etherfast 10/100 8-port Workgroup Switch
Linksys Wireless G broadband router, 4 connections.
Linksys Etherfast 10/100 8-port Workgroup Switch
Linksys Wireless G broadband router, 4 connections.
I want to have a 15 client network with a central domain server (Windows 2003) to use for file, print, and fax. There are also a few printers I would like to set up as network printers.
With my existing equipment, can I simply get a switch to plug directly into my DSL modem, whereas all the computers and printers will plug into the switch? Should I have the DSL modem plug into the router, from there the switch, and to all my computers? Is there a special switch I need to get for that? Just a little confused about all the hardware and options out there.
Thanks.
By: epichero22
Tags: Computers, Domain Server, Network Server
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:42
Yes you can just get a switch that everything plugs into and then it plugs into the router and then that plugs into the DSL modem. You can get a Hub or a Switch, the Switch will be slightly faster than a Hub. If you are buying new get a 1 gigabyte Switch, the 10/100 ones will be slow and outdated in a few years.
May 5th, 2009 at 22:13
All you need is ONE modem and ONE multi-port router. The router is plugged to the modem and nothing else. If you would want a server, the setup will be like this;
Internet-modem-server-router-computers
Hope that helps.
May 9th, 2009 at 03:39
As your router is wireless, and assuming it will reach everywhere in your building, you don’t need a switch at all. The router connects to the DSL modem and the computers broadcast to and from the router.
If environmental conditions (in-wall wiring, distance, etc.) don’t allow you to reach the router with wi-fi from every computer, you can run cable from the router to up to four (4) switches and connect the computers to the switch(es) with cable.
Someone suggested getting a 10/100/1000 (gigabit) switch, but this won’t help you on wi-fi. The 802.11g standard used by your router permits a maximum of 54Mbps traffic. To use gigabit ethernet you will need to run cable to everything. Category 5e will work as long as the cable run is not more than 100 meters (300 ft.). This presupposes that all your computers have 10/100/1000 network adapters. If they’re more than a couple years old, they may support only 10/100. That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve run networks with hundreds of computers on 10/100.
For your setup, the principle reason for replacing the router would be security. There are a number of security appliances available which combine routing with security features such as intrustion detection, antivirus, spam filtering, etc.
If you are running a server, that should be behind the router as well, not in front of it (between the modem and the router) as someone else suggested. Otherwise anyone can access your server.